The group discussed insulin coma therapy, popular in the early twentieth century, where high doses of insulin were injected into the bloodstream, causing people to go into hypoglycaemic shock. It was believed that this would reactivate their nervous system and metabolism and cure them of their mental illness. Another treatment was a lobotomy, where a pick was inserted through the eye socket and used to detach connections in the brain's frontal lobe. 

Senior Lecturer for Mental Health Nursing Katja Jung, who accompanied the students on the trip, explained: 

When we think about psychiatric treatment in the past, we also think about fad medical cures that were common. There was little understanding of psychiatric conditions or how to manage them, and it was difficult to distinguish effective treatments from hype. 

Nowadays, we might have more effective and safer antipsychotic medications, but much improvement is still needed.”